Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone camera is already impressive as is, but there is always room for improvement. A patent that is similar to Lytro’s image refocusing technology was awarded to the California company. What sets Lytro’s technology apart from others is that it allows users to refocus the images after the pictures were taken. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) did cite Lytro in their application but notes some critical differences.
Details of the Apple patent
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s patent goes more into detail: “A digital camera system configurable to operate in a low-resolution refocusable mode and a high-resolution non-refocusable mode comprising: a camera body; an image sensor mounted in the camera body having a plurality of sensor pixels for capturing a digital image; an imaging lens for forming an image of a scene onto an image plane, the imaging lens having an aperture; and an adaptor that can be inserted between the imaging lens and the image sensor to provide the low-resolution refocusable mode and can be removed to provide the high-resolution non-refocusable mode, the adaptor including a microlens array with a plurality of microlenses; wherein when the adaptor is inserted to provide the low-resolution refocusable mode, the microlens array is positioned between the imaging lens and the image sensor.”
Possible uses
Whether the new camera patent ends up in a future iPhone remains to be seen. It would be interesting if Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) added this technology into the iPhone as the tech company likes to keep their most popular gadget on the thin side. There also isn’t much of a consumer demand for the technology.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) recently introduced their Nokia Refocus application that refocuses pictures that were already taken. This particular application allows users to take closeup photos and change the focus of the image. It also allows users to add Color Pop or All In Focus.
